YoArt!https://yoartinc.org
Media Arts TechnologyThu, 17 Jan 2019 19:36:29 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3https://yoartinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/cropped-Yoart-web-tile-512-32x32.pngYoArt!https://yoartinc.org
3232End-of-year giving!https://yoartinc.org/2018/11/end-of-year-giving/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/11/end-of-year-giving/#respondFri, 30 Nov 2018 18:13:51 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48704Yo Art has been helping more than a thousand underprivileged students in the Lowcountry this year to get the experience they need in media arts and coding that is crucial to their success in finding meaningful careers and jobs when they get out of school. Our organization depends on donors like you to get the […]

Yo Art has been helping more than a thousand underprivileged students in the Lowcountry this year to get the experience they need in media arts and coding that is crucial to their success in finding meaningful careers and jobs when they get out of school. Our organization depends on donors like you to get the necessary equipment (cameras, iPads and software) into their hands. Not only do we need the equipment, we also need to fund field trips to places where students can document their research and to companies where they can come to understand the type of job or career that is possible with their new skills.

Please visit our donate page, and help us reach our goal of $15,000 before Christmas!

]]>https://yoartinc.org/2018/11/end-of-year-giving/feed/0Gene Furchgott’s Retirement Partyhttps://yoartinc.org/2018/11/gene-furchgotts-retirement-party/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/11/gene-furchgotts-retirement-party/#commentsWed, 14 Nov 2018 18:10:04 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48680October was a busy month for Yo Art and we especially enjoyed showing our appreciation to our Founder, Gene Furchgott. After 11 years of shepherding and building the organization into what it is today, Gene stepped aside as Executive Director, and Mayor John Tecklenburg joined us in thanking Gene for his effort. Gene built an […]

]]>October was a busy month for Yo Art and we especially enjoyed showing our appreciation to our Founder, Gene Furchgott. After 11 years of shepherding and building the organization into what it is today, Gene stepped aside as Executive Director, and Mayor John Tecklenburg joined us in thanking Gene for his effort.

Gene built an incredible amount out of very little. Armed with a mandate from then Mayor Joe Riley and an endowment from his Nobel Laureate uncle, Gene began an after-school art program with 35 students in one school. Patiently and steadily he built the program adding classes and instructors and expanded to other schools in need.

Today, Yo Art is educating more than 1,000 students per year in subjects such as photography, graphic design, filmmaking and coding. We expose Lowcountry students to the tools and software integral to their futures. We are very grateful for all the time and energy Gene gave to this important organization! President of the Board, Lori Bate, presented Gene with a clock, a symbol of all that time have gave Yo Art, and since, maybe, he’ll have a bit more of it now!

]]>https://yoartinc.org/2018/10/please-join-us-for-our-founders-retirement-party/feed/0Yo Art works with the Freedom School and Kids on Point at C of C!https://yoartinc.org/2018/07/yo-art-works-with-the-freedom-school-and-kids-on-point-at-c-of-c/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/07/yo-art-works-with-the-freedom-school-and-kids-on-point-at-c-of-c/#respondTue, 10 Jul 2018 19:46:07 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48640For five weeks, during the summer of 2018, Yo Art has worked with elementary and high school aged students attending the Freedom School, in conjunction with Kids on Point at the College of Charleston. Our 40 students have learned all about photography! We started with the basics, like color and pattern and light, and moved […]

]]>For five weeks, during the summer of 2018, Yo Art has worked with elementary and high school aged students attending the Freedom School, in conjunction with Kids on Point at the College of Charleston. Our 40 students have learned all about photography! We started with the basics, like color and pattern and light, and moved on to types of photography, like abstract and street photography, all while highlighting the stories photographs can tell and the emotion they can evoke.

This week, we focused on portraiture, and the images of the students are stunning!

To see more, visit the Main Branch of the Charleston County Public Library on or after July 26th! A show of student-generated photography will hang in the library’s children section.

]]>https://yoartinc.org/2018/07/yo-art-works-with-the-freedom-school-and-kids-on-point-at-c-of-c/feed/0Yo Art Partners with the Charleston Battery Soccer Clubhttps://yoartinc.org/2018/06/yo-art-partners-with-the-charleston-battery-soccer-club/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/06/yo-art-partners-with-the-charleston-battery-soccer-club/#respondWed, 20 Jun 2018 15:47:29 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48635Save the date! On Saturday, August 25th, Charleston Battery will welcome Yo Art, its guests and its supporters, into their stadium for their regular season game. Please join us! All proceeds from the Papa Johns sponsored frisbee toss will benefit Yo Art!

]]>Yo Art was the happy recipient of a very generous gift from Benefitfocus last week! Executive Director Elizabeth Bowers accepted 20 laptops Monday, June 4th at the Customer Success Center of Benefitfocus from Michael Kelly and Ed Turner. This gift is overwhelmingly appreciated and critical to our student’s futures.

Since, Michael Kelly’s has become the newest member of Yo Art’s board! His words below let our organization know he’d be a valuable tool to fulfill our mission and grow in the coming years.

Michael says, “This is what Yo Art means to me: Last year I visited a Fortune 50 software company client of ours in the Palo Alto area for a work trip, and it was a huge experience for me. Thousands of the world’s smartest people, all in the same area, producing tech for the whole world. The trip made it real and tangible, whereas before it seemed like those type of organizations exist on another planet.

“Similarly, I imagine children in the Yo Art program would feel the same way. To connect them with local employers and put technology in their hands makes it real and shows them a path they can realistically take to find a good future for themselves and their families.

“I’ve studied Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and quantum comp for a while as an interest/hobby. People will be surprised by the pace and degree of impact from these areas. Children with access to new and powerful tools will have a huge advantage and vice-versa. I love to see Yo Art supplementing the local community with opportunity they otherwise wouldn’t have. Yo Art’s programs are the gateway.

“It’s a serious topic. Public (as well as private) schools will struggle to keep pace with technology because of bureaucratic processes, logistics and change. No way to keep up. The private and charitable communities will have to help if the community is to prosper. Giving local kids exposure could make all the difference in the world, and for generations to come.”

]]>https://yoartinc.org/2018/06/benefitfocus-donates-20-laptops-to-yo-art-programs/feed/1Mayor Tecklenburg Praises Yo Arthttps://yoartinc.org/2018/06/mayor-tecklenburg-praises-yo-art/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/06/mayor-tecklenburg-praises-yo-art/#commentsTue, 12 Jun 2018 16:04:02 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48625At the kick off of the 42nd annual Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., our city’s mayor, John J. Tecklenburg praised Yo Art’s work in the community by saying, “. . . outreach and community engagement lies at the heart of our local cultural institutions’ missions and programming. Fine examples of this abound throughout our city […]

At the kick off of the 42nd annual Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., our city’s mayor, John J. Tecklenburg praised Yo Art’s work in the community by saying, “. . . outreach and community engagement lies at the heart of our local cultural institutions’ missions and programming.

Fine examples of this abound throughout our city and, increasingly, within our schools, with outstanding initiatives like Engaging Creative Minds and Yo Art — a program that teaches media arts like photography, filmmaking, and digital coding to students in Title I schools. What began as an after-school program for just thirty-five students has since grown into a well-established initiative that has touched the lives of some ten thousand students. Each summer, Yo Art students’ work is proudly displayed at the Charleston County Public Library as part of the Piccolo Spoleto program.

This year, Gene Furchgott, Yo Art’s founder, will be stepping down from his role as Executive Director. I’d like to congratulate Gene on everything he has accomplished, but more importantly, I want to thank him for his vision, his dedication, and his tireless efforts that have shaped so many young peoples’ lives, and reminded us all that the arts are neither a luxury nor a diversion – the arts are what connect us and what continue to chart our path forward as a community.”

As Charleston’s leader since 2016, Mayor Tecklenburg is a strong advocate for the arts and for the city’s next generation’s exposure to the arts.

Yo Art, specifically our founder Gene Furchgott, has worked tirelessly to bring arts and technology to local schools, and we wholeheartedly thank Mayor Tecklenburg for his accolades and support.

The above address was prepared for delivery by Mayor John J. Tecklenburg on May 25, 2018, at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A. Opening Ceremonies.

]]>https://yoartinc.org/2018/06/mayor-tecklenburg-praises-yo-art/feed/1Yo Art Announces New Executive Director!https://yoartinc.org/2018/05/yo-art-announces-new-executive-director/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/05/yo-art-announces-new-executive-director/#commentsFri, 04 May 2018 18:03:53 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48613On May 1st, 2018, Yo Art welcomed its new Executive Director, Elizabeth Bowers! As an organization, we’d like to take a moment to wholeheartedly thank our founder and former Executive Director, Gene Furchgott. Gene has worked tirelessly for over a decade to bring media arts and technology classes to over 25 different schools in the […]

As an organization, we’d like to take a moment to wholeheartedly thank our founder and former Executive Director, Gene Furchgott. Gene has worked tirelessly for over a decade to bring media arts and technology classes to over 25 different schools in the Charleston area. Through his vision, Yo Art grew from one after school program of 35 students to enriching the educations of over 1,000 students every school year. We’ll miss his leadership, but know he’ll always be intrinsically tied to the organization, through guidance and with a helping hand.

Looking forward, it’s clear that Elizabeth is uniquely qualified to lead Yo Art’s growth. She’s a product of the Charleston County School District’s art schools–of Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary and of Charleston County School of the Arts. After college, she returned home and covered arts and entertainment for the Post and Courier, and has worked with both children and the arts her whole career. She believes that arts education is one of the most important facets of education, and hopes to help Yo Art reach more students and grow exponentially in the next three years.

It’s an exciting time for the organization! We celebrate our past and our future, and hope you’ll follow and join in on our progress in the 2018-2019 school year!

]]>https://yoartinc.org/2018/04/yo-art-speaks-spanish/feed/0Yo Art and Blackbaud Team up for the Citadel vs. Charleston Southern Baseball Game!https://yoartinc.org/2018/03/yo-art-and-blackbaud-team-up-for-the-citadel-vs-charleston-southern-baseball-game/
https://yoartinc.org/2018/03/yo-art-and-blackbaud-team-up-for-the-citadel-vs-charleston-southern-baseball-game/#respondTue, 27 Mar 2018 21:35:52 +0000https://yoartinc.org/?p=48525The post Yo Art and Blackbaud Team up for the Citadel vs. Charleston Southern Baseball Game! appeared first on YoArt!.
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A fine evening was enjoyed by Yo Art staff members, instructors, board members, and friends of the organization for the Citadel vs. Charleston Southern baseball game. Thanks to a kind donation by local software company and sponsor Blackbaud, Yo Art experienced stellar views while watching the game from high up in the Blackbaud VIP Suite at Joesph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

The weather was beautiful and the evenly matched teams kept the fans cheering throughout the night. The Citadel made a valiant effort but then hit an unlucky streak entering the ninth inning and couldn’t keep up with Charleston Southern. We all enjoyed the game and want to give Blackbaud a special thanks for their generosity!

Yo Art staff members, instructors and board members enjoy a Friday night together for a Citadel baseball game!